Countdown to Mate

MB said: “I have a game for your consideration. Lately I have been “playing up” in chess tournaments, trying to raise my own rating or at least learn from the better competition. I often find myself with a small advantage, but one that I’ve paid for too heavily with my time. When there’s just enough time, I am decent at grinding it out and winning an endgame. But time trouble does me in a lot. I’ve tried changing my style to something more aggressive and have found so far that it’s just a way to lose faster.”

B.G. (1670) – MB (1339), [Game in 90] Columbia Open 2011 [B01]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3

This is already an important moment! Instead of the usual (mainline) 3.Nc3 (which blocks the c-pawn), White develops his other Knight to it’s usual (and good) square, and retains the option of trying to get his pawns to d4 AND c4 (something that 3.Nc3 can’t achieve). How should Black deal with this? Black’s most aggressive challenge to white’s setup is 3…Bg4 4.Be2 Nc6 5.d4 (5.h3 Bxf3 6.Bxf3 Qe6+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Nd4 9.Bd1 has been tried by some strong players who seek to hold on to the two Bishops and try and outplay their opponent’s in a long, tiring battle, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the chances are more or less equal.) 5…0-0-0. Here are some examples of what can occur:

A solid but pedestrian move that doesn’t try to dictate the direction of the play (3…Bg4, on the other hand, does dictate the game’s direction).

4.c4

Usually White plays 4.d4, 4.Nc3, or 4.Be2.

4…Qe6+?

MB said: “I regretted this move quickly. He gets to develop a piece, and I’m blocking the light-squared bishop and the e-pawn. Oops.”

You can’t play a move like this without some serious thought/reasons backing it up. The “I see a check, I’ll give a check” syndrome should be excised from your psyche immediately (in fact, your moves after this show me that you’re far too strong a player to try rubbish like 4…Qe6 on a regular basis – clearly, it’s just a random blip that won’t be repeated).

Correct was 4…Qa5, preventing White from following up with d2-d4, and also placing your Queen on a fairly safe square.

MB said: “This was to discourage Nd4 or d4. It doesn’t really work without more pieces.”

6.Na3?

Pretty bad! White sticks his Knight on the rim for reasons that are hard to fully understand. Simply 6.Nc3 was correct, with a clear advantage for White.

6…a6

MB said: “Here I really need to develop something but he keeps me defensive, so I pushed this pawn to keep Nb5 away.”

Ah, Mr. MB. By now everyone should know that you must challenge each and every threat, since you would much prefer to push your own agenda than cower before his! And even if you do have to deal with a threat, your first impressions should be to spit on it. In other words, I don’t mind you playing 6…a6, but I would have preferred to see some prose where you railed against the injustice of it all before finally bowing before your opponent’s might.

Oddly, my Fritz 9000+50-core insists on the ugly 6…Qb6. Its logic (yes, Fritz 9000+50-core actually uses logic mixed with brute force calculation and a fortune cookie or two) is hard to argue with. Here’s the printout: “Foolish human! Fritz 9000+50-core only stops threats if it can do other things at the same time. While your very flesh-like …a6 quivers in terror, Fritz 9000+50-core’s …Qb6 defends c7 (thereby making Nb5 useless), frees the light-squared Bishop’s c8-h8 diagonal, and prepares …e7-e6 followed by …Be7 and …0-0 too. After 6…Qb6 Black has a forced mate in 272 moves! Beep!”

White decides to leave his poor horse on a3, where it’s doing nothing. Instead, White should bring that Knight back into the game by 8.Nc2 followed by Ncxd4 (that way one Knight stands tall on d4, while the other keeps a close eye on the important e5-square).

8…Qd6 9.O-O e5

MB said: “I’m really dragging here... I’ve already used up 30 minutes... one-hour left on my clock. I want to get rid of queens and simplify.”

Black’s come back from a poor start to equalize the chances.

10.Nf3 Qxd1 11.Rxd1 Nc6 12.Be3 Be7 13.Rac1 O-O 14.c5 Ng4!

MB said: “I either wanted the bishop or to make him block the rook with the bishop.”

Actually, your Knight is doing a good job on g4 – that Knight scared White so much that he played the very poor 15.Bd2. Instead, White could have maintained the balance by 15.Nc4 Be6 (15…Nxe3 16.Nxe3).

Note that Black got into some trouble when he played the purely defensive 6…a6, and now White’s going to get into trouble by doing the same thing (15.Bd2).

15...e4

MB said: “31 minutes left.”

16.Ne1 Nge5

I’m still waiting to see why MB thought his Knight on g4 was poorly placed. It went to g4 and sent White into a state of hysteria, and now it has jumped to e5 where it will eye the key points on c4 and d3.

17.b4 Be6 18.Nc4 Nxc4?!

MB said: “I used up 11 minutes on this move. Now just 16 minutes left. I thought I had something with …Nd4, but it seems to fail to Bf1: 18...Nd4 19.Bf1 (19.Nxe5?? Nxe2+ 20.Kf1 Nxc1) 19…Nxc4 20.Bxc4 Bxc4 21.Rxc4 Rad8.”

Of course, you DID have something with 18…Nd4. We’ll follow your line: 19.Bf1 Nxc4 20.Bxc4 and now, instead of meekly trading Bishops (why do that?), you should stick him with 20…Bg4 when Black wins material.

Be that as it may, your 18…Nxc4 still maintains a solid advantage.

19.Bxc4 Bxc4 20.Rxc4 f5 21.Bf4?!

MB said: “He anticipated my wanting to play …Ne5.”

This doesn’t help White. Better was 21.Bc3 Rad8 22.Rb1 Bf6 23.Bxf6 Rxf6 24.a4 when (though Black’s still for choice) White is kicking his queenside majority of pawns into gear (you’ll never get anywhere if you don’t make use of your positive imbalances).

21...Rad8

MB said: “14 minutes left. Initially I figured he had to capture the rook, but then it occurred to me that he could try Bd6. I studied that while I awaited the move. It didn’t seem to work, but I wasn’t certain of a response when it was actually played.”

22.Bd6? Rf6!

MB said: “The bishop is pinned and attacked three times. I’m making decent moves but my clock is getting low.”

MB said: “In retrospect I think I should have played …Nc6 immediately to limit his rook’s range.”

No, your 30…Rb1 is excellent! In fact, since move 7, you’ve played master chess. Whether you’re demonstrating some serious talent, or whether you’ve just proven the Hundred Monkey Theory, isn’t clear to me. But whatever the case may be, you are playing very, very well!

31.Rc4 Nc6

MB said: “I got a chance to play it anyway.”

32.Ke2 Rxb6

MB said: “2 minutes left. I’m up two pawns but I’m going to pay for that clock.”

33.Nc2 Kf7 34.Kd2 g6

No need for this, but okay … no harm, no foul!

35.Kc3 Rb1 36.Kd2 Kf6 37.h4 g5

MB said: “1:37 remains.”

Arrrggghh! This is like watching a horror movie. You know the killer (in this case, the evil clock) is coming, but there’s nothing you can do about it! Unfortunately you’re playing a sudden death game (no added time when you make a certain amount of moves). If you’re not in a sudden death situation, then you should follow this formula: tighten everything up, don’t make any risky decisions, and make safe, small gains until you get that extra time. To be honest, your 37…g5 is not “formula approved.” By pushing your g-pawn, you are trading off a potential target on h4 and also weakening your own pawn structure.

Here are two no risk plans that would have brought you the full point (a point you fully deserved!):

* Go after his h4-pawn, force g2-g3, attack his f2-pawn from h2, and when he defends it with his King, use the combined might of your Knight (toss it onto e5!) and Rook to stomp him into the dirt: 37…Rh1 38.g3 Rh2 39.Ke2 (39.Ke1 Ne5 40.Rc7 Nd3+) 39…Ne5 40.Rc7 Ng4 41.Rxh7 Nxf2 43.Rxb7 Nh1+ 43.Kd1 Nxg3.

38.hxg5+ Kxg5 39.g3 h5 40.Rc5 Kg4??

You just walked into a Knight check. Now the game should be a draw.

41.Ne3+

Before looking at the end of your game, allow me to soothe the psychological scarring by pointing out that you’re not the only one who allowed this kind of thing. In fact, some very famous grandmasters have already experienced what you experienced here! Here’s a great example:

This is the game Nigel Short – A. Beliavsky, Linares 1992. White’s winning easily since his passed b-pawn is much too strong. Just 1.Nxf6 would do the trick, but instead White decided that taking a pawn at this stage wasn’t that important, but super-King position was. Thus 1.Ke6??? appeared on the board. Imagine Mr. Short’s mental state when his opponent played 1…Bc8 mate.

Okay, now it's time to look at the end of Mr. MB's game!

41…Kf3?? 42.Rxf5 mate! Mr. MB, I feel your pain.

Mr. MB, you played incredibly well (your hideous 4…Qe6+ was the only obvious error you made until time pressure dragged you down). So what to do? First off, continue using lots of time to find good moves! Who cares if you have 4 hours left at the end of a game if your position is a seething wreck? No, the key to your later development is to get used to seeking, finding, and playing strong moves. You did that in this game.

As you gain experience, you’ll know when/where to spend your time, and when a move is obvious (and thus can be made rather quickly). Your openings will be tighter, your eyes will be quicker, and you’ll be so cool and calm that a bit of time pressure won’t bother you in the least.

Yes, you can also avoid sudden death games, but overall your main goal should be to play good moves, and if you need time to do so, then take that time.

Lessons From This Game

* You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t make use of your positive imbalances.

* By now everyone should know that you must challenge each and every threat, since you would much prefer to push your own agenda than cower before his.

* The “I see a check, I’ll give a check” syndrome should be excised from your psyche immediately!

* Bow before the omnipotent might of Fritz 9000+50-core!

* Don’t leave your pieces on dead squares! Bring them back into play at the first opportunity!

@VincentPicard: if you will accept low-skill player opinion ... play as many games as possible :) and play them with time limit which still allows you to think a bit. E.g. I personally play 5 minutes blitz mostly. If I go with less time then my games are too random.

What you get from playing many many games is the feeling for time. You will learn to manage the time, so when you play any game with more time on clock, you will be in much more comfortable situation.

And I also play on clock, but I prefer quality over time, so I do not mind that much if I loose on time, but with winning position (happened many times) because I know that next time I will play this way faster. I take every game as practise for next game ;)

Thank you for this instructive article Mr. Silman. I love chess but I also often lose games because of clock. Time is going so fast when I analyze a position and it is too bad when I realize I have lost a game not because I played weaker moves than my opponent's ones but because I spended too much time to find them...

Could you please tell us some advice about time managing in blitz games? Should we also try to play the best moves and not mind about the clock (even if it means many defeats)? Or maybe you think one should not play blitz games if he wants to improve. In your opinion, what is a reasonable time setting in order to improve?

I get to this a lot I think because I try scholar's mate almost constant I didn't read too much past the start but if black moves something like his queen too close Nc3 can keep the center under threat.

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